JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville Sheriff's Office detective who flipped her unmarked vehicle last month in St. Johns County was identified by another driver whose pickup truck she clipped a short time earlier, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Investigators said Detective Amy Coarsey's car overturned about 8 p.m. Sept 20 on State Road 13 southbound near Roberts Road in Fruit Cove.
They said Coarsey clipped the rear of 65-year-old Michael Maxwell's truck a few minutes earlier and kept going, eventually flipping her car. Coarsey was entrapped and had to be removed by rescuers but was not taken to a hospital.
Several drivers, including the driver of the clipped truck, called 911 that night about Coarsey's driving. The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office has released five 911 calls from Sept. 20.
LISTEN: 911 calls
The callers described Coarsey's unmarked tan Chevy, saying it was swerving in and out of lanes on SR 13.
Operator: Are you headed southbound?
Caller: Yes I am.
Operator: OK. Is it gonna be like a Chevy car, tan in color?
Caller: He is in front of me, right-hand lane. I haven't gotten close enough 'cause he keeps pulling and hitting the side of the curb.
Operator: OK.
Another caller had a similar report.
Operator: You don't know the type of vehicle?
Caller: No but I'm going to switch lanes and find out real quick 'cause he's going, he's going to cause an accident. There's no question. He's been going slow, going fast, swerving. Now he's just about to turn and he hasn't even put on the gas to make the turn yet.
Minutes later, Coarsey's car clipped the truck, according to the Florida Highway Patrol report.
And then the driver called 911.
Operator: 911, what's your emergency?
Caller: I was just hit by a hit-and-run driver. I'm in the southbound State Road 13 Fruit Cove area.
Operator: What did the vehicle look like, sir? Was it a tan truck or a tan car?
Caller: It's a small compact vehicle. There's front end damage to it. His hood is buckled up. I'm crossing Roberts Road now, seeing if I can find him.
Then moments after the hit-and-run, another call came in to 911 to report a vehicle had flipped near the same area.
Investigators said that based on what they were told about Coarsey's driving pattern, they requested a voluntary blood sample to test for alcohol content or controlled substances. Coarsey consented to the testing, and the results are pending.
Coarsey has been administratively reassigned to JSO's Tele-Serve Unit pending the outcome of the investigation.
JSO said it'll conduct its own investigation to determine if any policies or procedures were violated.
News4Jax crime and safety expert Gil Smith said JSO will not take any further action until the FHP's results come in, and the hit-and-run could play a major role in the way JSO will discipline Coarsey.
"But they'll look at so many other factors," Smith said. "It could be a medical reason. We don't know. There's just so many questions left to be answered. It's almost impossible to know what discipline will be administered."
Smith also said JSO will only be able to discipline Coarsey administratively and that FHP will handle any traffic citations.
"FHP is handling this as if it were any other traffic crash," Smith said. "They're not looking at it as a police crash or in terms of discipline. They have nothing to do with the discipline, and they don't recommend discipline. They're handling this as if anyone else was in a crash. Once they're done, then the Sheriff's Office will take a look at it."